A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh rejected the presence of a ‘Modi wave’ in the country, his stepbrother Daljit Singh Kohli joined the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) in the presence of its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
Kohli stunned everyone, when he suddenly appeared on
the dais, minutes after Modi and Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal mounted the stage at a rally to support BJP’s Amritsar candidate Arun Jaitley.

Embracing Kohli into the fold, Modi said, “Dr Manmohan Singh’s brother has joined the BJP, and this will add to our strength. I welcome him into the party and assure him that this is not a membership party, but a relationship party. I promise him that whatever dreams for India and Punjab he has brought into the BJP, all of them will be fulfilled.”

Defending the PM, but lashing out at the Congress, Kohli said, “I put on record that my elder brother Sardar Manmohan Singh is a respected and honest gentleman. He has served the nation with full dedication and honesty. However, the Congress leadership never gave him a free hand and interfered in the functioning of the government. Because of this the nation is in a mess. I decided to join the BJP in the interest of the country and Punjab.

Kohli asserted that the Modi government will provide a new vision and direction to the growth and development of the country.

He also backed Arun Jaitley, saying, “I have made the choice to support Jaitley, because he is dynamic, honest, and a visionary. He will prove to be an asset for the government, and will not only serve Amritsar, but also Punjab.”

Badal, while taking a dig at Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, said, “What this mother and son did to the Prime Minister has caused pain to the family of Dr Manmohan Singh and this is why Kohli saab has come to the BJP.”

Meanwhile, a source in the Prime Minister’s Office said that Manmohan Singh’s family was “surprised at this development”. “His (Daljit Singh Kohli’s) considerations are best known to him, but he is free to pursue his political career,” the source said.